Analysis: Some clear losers in first GOP debate, but the absent Trump emerges largely unscathed

MILWAUKEE — Like a chorus line awaiting its leading man, eight Republican presidential hopefuls opened their first debate Wednesday night without the party’s main attraction, hoping to show they can solve a puzzle that has bewildered GOP politicians for eight years: how to get past Donald Trump.

For most of the first hour of the two-hour confrontation, however, the candidates largely tried to ignore Trump’s dominating presence. Instead, it was the campaign’s political newcomer, Vivek Ramaswamy, who quickly became the center of attention, rebutting accusations by former Vice President Mike Pence that he’s unqualified.

“We don’t need to bring in a rookie,” Pence said, the first of several time during the debate’s opening hour in which he focused on the 38-year-old entrepreneur, who has risen in recent polls.

A few minutes later, as Ramaswamy declared himself the “only candidate not bought and paid for,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie